Love Tied to a Tree

I would have missed it if had done what I had wanted to do.

What I wanted to do was to sleep. What I did, instead, was to put on my running shoes and head outdoors for a little bit of routine and a whole lot of boring. As I was lacing up my shoes, I told the Lord that this was a choice of my will…not of my “want to.” He was going to have to push me out the door and get my feet to moving. After all, my flesh is weak and usually defaults to my wants. He agreed with my assessment. So he pushed, and before long, my “want to” caught up with my will as I found my stride along the path of my usual.

The weather was cool and crisp, reminding me that winter’s end has not yet come. The sun’s brilliancy reminded me that a spring’s blossom is just around the bend. With ipod blaring and the pavement beneath my feet, I quickly found my rhythm, believing that the benefits of such an obedience would outweigh the boring.

Benefits that include…

Better health.
Better mind.
Better spirit.

God has always used my time outdoors to accomplish this three-fold blessing. The mingling of flesh with my mind and spirit encompasses the full package. It is therapy of the cheapest, yet sometimes, most profound kind. I allow God to teach me in these moments. I open up my eyes to see, my ears to hear, and my mind to conceive the possibilities of all that he wants to reveal.

Today was no different. As I rounded the corner of mile one, my vision was captured by a scene that I shall not soon forget. Caught in the brambles of barren tree branches and contrasted against the brilliancy of the blue sky, was a shimmering red bundle of something. The height of that something made its identification difficult, but as I drew closer, my suspicions were confirmed.

That bundle of “something” was in fact a bouquet of balloons. Valentine’s balloons. Somebody’s “something” had blown away in the night amidst the winds of a tempestuous storm. Somebody’s expression of love had left its intended home to now find its home amongst the tangled branches of a wintering tree. Somebody’s surprise traversed the landscape to now become my surprise, and I could not escape the sacred possibilities of such a revelation.

Love, in the form of a Valentine, made its way to this tree to teach me. Love tied itself to this tree to give me a blessing…a “Happy Valentine’s Day” blessing. Love, battered by the winds of change, tangled itself smack dab in the middle of this tree whose grip was tight and who kept it there long enough for me to notice. Long enough for me to receive the benefits of such an engagement—better health…better mind…better spirit.

For the next two miles, my mind was transfixed on this modern day parable that had painted itself across my winter sky. The profundity of such a moment is not lost on me.

Two thousand years ago, Love, in the form of a Son, made his way to a tree. Love tied himself to a tree to bring me a “Happy Valentine’s Day” blessing. It was a message that he scripted with the blood of his very own hands. Love, battered by the winds of the tempestuous storm that began from the very beginning, drove him to a purposeful tangling amidst thorns and brambles whose grip was tight and who kept him there long enough…long enough…simply long enough to finish love’s completing work.

God’s bouquet of Love chose his confinement upon a tree. He traversed the soil of humanity for this one purpose…this one moment of lingering internment upon a cross where his “want to” and his flesh caught up with the will of his Father. God’s “something”…God’s Someone…left his intended home with the sacred intention of becoming the world’s Valentine. The world’s Surprise. The world’s Revelation.

He hung upon the tree of winter…a Calvary tree…knowing that a spring’s blossom awaited his full surrender. The air was crisp and cool, and yet the brilliancy of the Son reminded the world…reminds the world…that death precedes the birth of a bloom. That beneath the branches that boast emptiness, lie the buds which are readying themselves for a bursting forth that can only be described as miraculous.

A resurrection!

An Easter morning!

Better health. Better mind. Better spirit. Indeed, I would have missed it if had done what I had wanted to do. But I would have missed everything. I would have missed Grace. I would have missed Love. I would have missed Jesus.

I cannot consider such loss, for Jesus is all the world to me. I cannot go back and pretend that I do not know the Truth because long ago, Truth was revealed in my heart, and I have kept to his path ever since. I cannot imagine not understanding and believing the impact of a Calvary Love, but there are days when I am prone to forget. Days when I need to break from the confines of my “want to”, lace up my shoes, and push my flesh to a point of remembrance.

God is always faithful to reveal himself to me when I choose such an obedience. Today, he revealed himself through a bouquet of love that was tied to a tree. Tomorrow holds a revelation all its own. I can hardly wait to get there. Until then, I will bask in the shadow of the blessing that hangs in surrender upon a tree in my neighborhood. It is a blessing that says “Happy Valentine’s Day!” This day and every day.

See Him. Hear Him, and conceive the possibilities of such a gracious grace. What wondrous love is this! It is a love I want, and so I pray…

Father, you are everything to me. I cannot imagine my life without you. You breathed your love over my life as you tied your Love to a tree at Calvary. No greater love have I ever known. It is a wondrous, undeserving, and lavish love that cannot be measured with words, with music, or with pictures. It can only be adequately known and expressed within the deep recesses of my being. You are there God, for your Spirit lives within. Hear now my expression of love as it encompasses my frame and brings me to my knees in full surrender. You, alone, are worthy of such devotion. I receive your Valentine…you Son Jesus as the Love of my life. I return my love back to you. Where it is not perfect, perfect it, Lord. Where it is flesh, replace it with faith. Better health…better mind…better spirit. That is what I want, so I pray for eyes and ears and a mind to receive the fullness of such a gift. I stand ready to receive. Amen.

peace for the journey~elaine